Reading in a supine position has presented problems, regardless of whether the reader is indoors or outdoors. For example, holding the book above one's head quickly causes the reader's arms to grow tired. Extension of the arms above one's body causes even the lightest of reading materials to feel heavy and cumbersome to handle. These problems are accelerated when the reader is outdoors. Wind and varying angles of sunlight can make manipulation of the book even more difficult. These problems are further accelerated in the event the reader begins to sleep while reading, as often occurs in the relaxed setting of a beach or other waterfront.
The prior art has attempted to address these problems with stands to support books in the proper position for supine reading. However, these stands have introduced new and additional problems to reading outdoors. For example, many known stands simply lack the portability required to easily move the stand from storage to the outdoor reading environment. Although some prior stands are light weight, they are not designed for easy transport. Further, the prior stands either made page manipulation very difficult or fail to provide means for preventing the book's pages from being moved in a breezy outdoor environment. The stability of the book stand itself is also a problem in the breezy environments encountered at a beach or waterfront.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,741,869 to Aibel (Apr. 17, 1956) teaches a reading stand wherein a transparent book holder portion is supported in a rack having supporting legs. Aibel discloses sharpening the legs so they can be forced into the ground when using the stand in an outdoor environment. However, this stand is relatively large and bulky, even in a folded state.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,823,489 to Laing (Feb. 18, 1958) discloses a reading stand having an angled platform to support the book. The angled platform is composed of two flat panels connected by a hinge and having a separate angle control member to prevent over-extension of the hinge. However, Laing discloses no means for controlling the pages of the book or the stand itself in a windy environment. Moreover, the Laing stand is not portable for easy transport.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,925,144 to White (May 15, 1990) discloses a book holder on a single support leg. The single leg is inserted into the ground during use. However, this arrangement lacks the stability needed for outdoor wind conditions and makes repositioning for sun blocking more tedious due to the use of a single leg.